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| Country | Uruguay | | | Flag |  | | | Capital | name: Montevideo geographic coordinates: 34 53 S, 56 11 W time difference: UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins second Sunday in October; ends second Sunday in March | | | Population | 3,460,607 (July 2007 est.) | | | GMT | -3 | | | Location | Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Argentina and Brazil
see map | | | Area | total: 176,220 sq km land: 173,620 sq km water: 2,600 sq km | | | Ethnic groups | white 88%, mestizo 8%, black 4%, Amerindian (practically nonexistent) | | | Religions | Roman Catholic 66% (less than half of the adult population attends church regularly), Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, nonprofessing or other 31% | | | Languages | Spanish, Portunol, or Brazilero (Portuguese-Spanish mix on the Brazilian frontier) | | | Government type | constitutional republic | | | National holiday | Independence Day, 25 August (1825) | | | Constitution | 27 November 1966, effective 15 February 1967; suspended 27 June 1973, new constitution rejected by referendum 30 November 1980; two constitutional reforms approved by plebiscite 26 November 1989 and 7 January 1997 | | | Legal system | based on Spanish civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | | | Background | Montevideo, founded by the Spanish in 1726 as a military stronghold, soon took advantage of its natural harbor to become an important commercial center. Claimed by Argentina but annexed by Brazil in 1821, Uruguay declared its independence four years later and secured its freedom in 1828 after a three-year struggle. The administrations of President Jose BATLLE in the early 20th century established widespread political, social, and economic reforms that established a statist tradition. A violent Marxist urban guerrilla movement named the Tupamaros, launched in the late 1960s, led Uruguay's president to cede control of the government to the military in 1973. By yearend, the rebels had been crushed, but the military continued to expand its hold over the government. Civilian rule was not restored until 1985. In 2004, the left-of-center Frente Amplio Coalition won national elections that effectively ended 170 years of political control previously held by the Colorado and Blanco parties. Uruguay's political and labor conditions are among the freest on the continent. | | Internet country code | .uy | |
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